I consider this to be unique encodings with different artistic representations, like our English language and all the various handwriting styles and fonts that exist.

Encoding:

Click here to view the secret text

×This system is based on Simpuhl English. When I say to "attach" two numbers together, I mean that the primary number should have the second number much in the same way as one would connect letters in Simpuhl English.

If I speak of attaching a symbol, I mean a small mark of some sort, such as an arrowhead or a semi-circle. The specific representation is up to the artist. Never attach a symbol to a point that is part of two numbers. The symbols should be very clearly visible.

1. Divide the number into up to one group of two digits and 6 groups of three.

2. For the two-digit group, assume that it is a three-digit group with a 0 as the third digit.

3. A leading empty group must be omitted.

4. Write out the first number in each group.

5. Attach the second digit of the group

6. If the second digit is zero, it must be omitted - if a symbol would have to be added to the second digit in the next sentence, instead place it directly above - but independent from - the first.

7. If the third digit is greater than 5, add a symbol to the second digit and subtract 5 from the third digit.

8. Add a number of symbols to the first digit equal to the (newly modified) third digit.

Decoding:

Click here to view the secret text

×1. Write out a number of blank spaces equal to three times the number of characters in the DNoD, in groups of three.

2. For each character, place the largest digit in the first space of the corresponding digit.

3. Place the smaller digit of each character in the second space of the corresponding digit. If there is no smaller digit, place a zero.

4. Count the number of symbols attached to the larger digit. Place that number in the third space of the corresponding group.

5. If there is a smaller digit and it has a symbol attached, or if there is no smaller digit and there is a symbol above the larger digit, add 5 to the third digit of that group.

6. If there are seven digit groups, cross out the third digit of the first group (if it's not a zero, something is wrong).

Note: There is a special case of the quintillions group. This is not strictly necessary, but since it can never represent more digits, it shrinks the numbers. The system can be extended, in which case that special rule should be eliminated.

The Tattoo Test:

Click here to view the secret text

×There is a lot of room for artistry while still maintaining the fundamental meaning of the numbers - the way that the two digits are integrated, as well as the shape and positioning of the symbols. Not to mention the design of the numerals.

The Drawn in Blood Test:

Click here to view the secret text

×This is a good one. The use of interconnected digits saves strokes, and (since you are dying), you probably don't need to be that exacting. The symbols can simply be lines across the digits, leading to good legibility, but it's still quick to write.

The Cocktail Napkin Test:

Click here to view the secret text

×This is a great, easy system. It's not hard to translate to a number, even in your head!

The "Hey, I Know You!" Test:

Click here to view the secret text

×This test depends on the artistic interpretation - if you have 15 different ways of showing your DROD number in different places, no one will recognize it. But if you have a specific way of showing it, it's as unique as your signature - everyone will know exactly who you are just by the embellished style of your DROD tatoo.

quote:Jutt wrote:
Techants My Simple Code:
Same problem, you state the shortening of repeating numbers is not required making it possible to encode some numbers in different ways. Also allowing the addition of filler letters has this problem.

Well I fixed mine removing the flexibility. Thanks Jutt.

____________________________
DROD RPG Released!! You must try it out it is Great!!

Click here to view the secret text

×
I have been continually playing contest on the forum since Dec 2004. Having often been addressed as a he my new avatar shows that I am a "Lady". And one with a very sharp sword, too.

I love the monthly contests but it took me a long while before I even placed. 21 contests in fact.

Virtual Burning Man was the first contest I took any place in and I got 1st, wow!. Yes, I have received my prize, a sweatshirt from the DROD store, and I love it.

With this system I tried to make the DNOD abstract enough to not look like a number at first sight, yet really easy to decode when inspecting closely. For this purpose, there are no fancy number bases, just stylized decimal digits tightly packed in a box of up to 4x5 size. The depictions used are intentionally connecting as to always form a single shape (see second example below).

Description and Samples:

Click here to view the secret text

×

Encoding:

Click here to view the secret text

×This is really easy - take each digit of the number and convert into stylized form as in description above. Draw an initial box sized according to length of number - if the number of digits is N then: for N <= 3 a 1xN box, for 3 < N <= 10 a 2x(N[+1]/2) box (heading zero if needed), for N > 10, a box 5 digits wide and as high as needed, adding heading zeroes to complete to multiple of 5. Then just pack the digits in (order from left to right and top to bottom of course) and you're done.

Decoding:

Click here to view the secret text

×Extremely easy as well - just go over the digits one by one, it's already decimal.

The Tattoo Test:

Click here to view the secret text

×The depiction is rather compact and very abstract, doesn't look like a number at all, in fact, nobody would ever guess what meaning it has unless they know about the DNOD. A perfect secret society tattoo.

The Drawn in Blood Test:

Click here to view the secret text

×The compact pattern means most of the digits share lines in big numbers, also, the total number of lines is greatly decreased thanks to stacked digits combining.

The Cocktail Napkin Test (Encodability):

Click here to view the secret text

×Encoding is easy! After all, it's just decimal digits written in a stylized manner, nothing more.

The "Hey, I Know You!" Test (Decodability):

Click here to view the secret text

×If you know how to read it, you can just read it!

____________________________
Slay the living! Raise the dead!
Paint the sky in crimson red!

As far as I can see you only borrowed the shorthand concept and invented the shapes for the numbers and the layout yourself. You should be safe there.

quote:Tim wrote:
I've updated my entry to add something in front of the final result, and that part is invented by me. Obviously, the English representation of the numerals part is not my own invention, but are you saying that all the other entries that use Roman representation of the numerals are also unoriginal and should be disqualified?

First of all I tink it's hard to draw a clear line between borowing ideas and copying existing systems.
I think it's fine to use the roman glyphs or numbers in your representation, as long as you do not present them in a system that already exists. For example: the roman numerals/glyphs are used in scientific notation or base 8 numbers. Neither of those are your own inventions and clearly will not be allowed. Yet if you use them in a completely new system, where the rules to represent a number are invented by you, that should be ok.

quote:eb0ny wrote:
Is my entry valid in this context?

I find this difficult to determine. The fact that both the rules for encoding and the glyphs used are similar enough to the normal decimal system (and IP number system) is problematic. But for example the tattoo representation is an original addition in representing them.

As for the different representations: If you all include them in the standard, that may conflict with the uniqueness/repeatability rules. But if you keep the simple string with dots notation as standard, the originality is the problem.
Difficult.

In the end I can only guess what will pass the submission criteria and what not.

As for different notations, then maybe I can leave the tattoo and suggest other methods as alternatives? It was my attempt to make the system versatile by giving options (as drawing the whole tattoo with blood is problematic, whereas method 2 works just fine). I will see what other opinions there might be...

Bah. I dislike the one-to-one mapping rule. Highly. It doesn't make sense. The rule should be that any representation should map to only one number, but a number could map to more than one representation. I'm leaving mine unchanged. Feel free to disqualify them if you wish. In fact, I'm going to say that any system that blindly follows that rule will have its vote from me decremented, or even zeroed. Rules are rules, but some rules should be broken. And I'm smashing this one with a sledgehammer.

Hmm... I'd say that giving pathological scores to entries that happen to involve a personal pet peeve is out of order.

But besides that...your claim that a one-to-one representation doesn't make sense also doesn't make sense. Our arabic numerals have a one-to-one representation and they work just fine.

And what's this about "some rules are made to be broken"?! This is a contest, man. There are rules in contests and that's just the way it is. That's like saying I should be able to carry the ball in my hands when playing soccer because "some rules are made to be broken". Or that if there's a contest about writing DROD haiku, you'll write a sonnet instead and give a zero to entries that actually followed the specified format because "some rules are made to be broken". Sheesh...we're not deciding the fate of the universe here.

____________________________
Gandalf? Yes... That's what they used to call me.
Gandalf the Grey. That was my name.
I am Gandalf the White.
And I come back to you now at the turn of the tide.[Last edited by mrimer at 01-16-2008 08:40 PM]

The problem with changing rules mid-contest is that entrants have already committed effort based on the original rules. Right now, I'd guess that the sum total of time put in from different people is past a hundred hours. So if someone spent extra time trying to follow a rule, I don't want to invalidate their work.

If I make any changes to the rules, it will be to prevent a major problem or to clarify. I have this inflexibility not because I'm lazy or close-minded, but because I want to be respectful of people's work.

Hmm, but I am a little lazy and close-minded too, I have to admit.

-Erik

____________________________Godkiller Gamedev streams (live sessions where I make a new puzzle game. NSFW, mature content)youtube (archive of live streams, and some animated videos I made. Again, contains mature content.)

quote:ErikH2000 wrote:
The problem with changing rules mid-contest is that entrants have already committed effort based on the original rules.

Well, one could argue that entrants also have committed effort not based on the original rules.

However, said effort clearly did not extend to actually reading all the rules, so I'm having a hard time summoning sympathy even for myself. I'm leaving my entry as is, since the arbitrary representation is really the only thing separating it from just being an alternate set of ten symbols for digits, and if it doesn't make it into the final vote, fine.

quote:Dischorran wrote:
Well, one could argue that entrants also have committed effort not based on the original rules.

Call me a tyrant, but I intend to favor people that did follow the original rules. Maybe sometime in the future, there will be a contest that is all about not following the rules, and anybody who unwisely follows the rules will be evaluated harshly.

-Erik

____________________________Godkiller Gamedev streams (live sessions where I make a new puzzle game. NSFW, mature content)youtube (archive of live streams, and some animated videos I made. Again, contains mature content.)

Mine is rather simple. I created a set of Hexadecimals glyphs that are read in two column Chinese style. The first number is placed and then the second is inverted. Then you move onto the second line. If they don't line up perfectly there is no problem. The main concern is to have both columns the same length and have them remain close together without overlapping.

And this is the number... (In hex so, 99650DB3CA060000)

____________________________
Last night upon a stair
I met a man that wasn't there
He wasn't there again today
I wish that man would stay away

The Circular Lines is basically a different representation of decimal numbers. However, every symbol in this system can represent a number between 0 - 9999. It's similar to Jutt's Contour Script regarding the grouping of numbers, but unlike Jutt's system, this one uses a much simpler representation system that can be (de)coded easily.

Encoding and Decoding

Click here to view the secret text

×First, add zeroes in front of the number so that the number can be divided into groups of 4 digits, starting from the right. For example: 12345768 -> [1234][5678], 341265 -> [0034][1265], [2950] -> [2950].

Then, for each of these group, put the digits in a clockwise order, starting from the top right.

Use the following table to draw the numbers for the first (top right) corner.

Note how the pattern in the table can be easily translated into a normal number. A staight line means 1, a circle part means 2, and an inverted circle part means 3, and every small circle means add 3.

For the second, third and last corner, rotate the pattern by 90, 180 and 270 degrees, like the following example.

As you can see from the example, decoding is not very hard.

Note that the colouring and the dots are not part of the representation, but is only used as a drawing/explanation aid. (I used MSPaint, and I can't draw.)

Examples:

Click here to view the secret text

×

Note that the colouring and the dots are not part of the representation, but is only used as a drawing/explanation aid. (I used MSPaint, and I can't draw.)

The tests

Click here to view the secret text

×Tattoo test: If you look at the examples, you'll see that the shapes that can be made from this system are quite simple, but still very nice to look at.

Drawn in blood: Even a complex 20-digit number can be drawn with 5 pen strokes.

Cocktail Napkin: Encoding is very simple, just split the number into groups of 4 digits, and draw them using the pattern table, which is also very simple to remember. You won't need any grid paper or much percision to draw the symbols.

Hey, I know you: Decoding is very easy as well, just split each of the symbols into 4 parts and determine the number according the pattern. While decoding the examples myself, I was actually surprised how fast this could be done.

____________________________The best way to lose customers is to let little kids running loose on a forum with too many mod points.[Last edited by Tim at 01-19-2008 10:50 AM]

My system relies on 4 groups of 5 numbers, so that it can go up to 20 places. (The number of places in 29.5 quintillion.) There are 4 sections, each with a pentagon in it.
Each side stands for a number using the following method:

There will be a certain number of humps on a certain side for each number.
0: Nothing.
1: One hump on top.
2: Two humps on top.
3: Three humps on top.
4: One hump on bottom.
5: Two humps on bottom.
6: Three humps on bottom.
7: One hump on both sides.
8: Two humps on both sides.
9: Three humps on both sides.

So, for each pentagon, the numbers start from the top right side, and go clockwise. You read the sections in the following order: Top-right, top-left, bottom-left, bottom-right.And now, for examples:

Click here to view the secret text

×

Sorry it looks so bad, I can’t draw.

Those are, in order from top right CCW, 29.5 Quintillion; 1; 22,016,827,348,132,140,000; 3012.

So…
Tattoo Test: It can easily be written, and you could have it as a small tattoo on your bicep, or a big one on your back! It would also look cool if I had any drawing skills whatsoever. It looks awesome too!

Drawn in blood: It would be very easy to write if you only had blood, because it doesn’t have to be very big at all. And doesn’t require much writing.

Cocktail napkin test: It’s very easy to encode, just draw the cross thingy in the middle, 4 pentagons, then put the proper amount of humps on each side.

Hey, I know you!: Also very easy to decode. Just read the humps around in a circle and you’ll have it in no time.

____________________________
Jesus is Lord and Messiah![Last edited by golfrman at 01-21-2008 03:37 AM]

×
The number is built from arranged tetramino and pentamino blocks on the plane.

Encoding:
To encode number in this system, one must place predefined blocks on a 7 x INF board. The blocks, with corresponding values look like this:

Click here to view the secret text

×

And the board like this:

Click here to view the secret text

×

1) Blocks are placed in the same order the number is read from left to right. One must traverse the board from left to right row-by-row, and place the blocks as soon as possible (so there is only one arrangement for any number).

Note the following example of number 134261241:

Click here to view the secret text

×

The values on the blocks denote their order of placement.

2) Second step is to simplify the arrangement, by replacing the blocks with their simplified representations of lines. Example above becomes the following:

Click here to view the secret text

×

The gray grid is added for clarity.

Decoding:
To decode the number, one can remember the way it looks, or decode it digit-by-digit. The blocks' shapes are intuitive, so decoding should not be a hard task.

Examples:

Click here to view the secret text

×

Tests:
1) The Tattoo Test (Aesthetics) - One can play a lot with line thickness and color in the code's final form, the board can be stretched and rotated (and probably skewed). Others can revert to number's tetris form and the play with blocks' colors. It can be made nice, though worst-case tests don't look that good.

2) The Drawn In Blood Test (Elegance) - Writing efficiency is at least as good as decimal, as the abstracted blocks require one stroke (even '3'). Plus, it has a bonus of being easily represented in ASCII.

3) The Cocktail Napkin Test (Encodability) - With some practice step one can be skipped altogether and coctail napkin has more then enough space to encode a number.

4) The "Hey, I Know You!" Test (Decodability) - One can memorize visual cues, or decode the code digit-by-digit. Blocks' values are easy to remember, so this isn't very hard.

2) Each depiction for a number is repeatable, so that someone following your numeral system's rules will create a consistent depiction for any given number. - As long as the blocks are placed as described, this rule holds.

3) The system's depictions must be two-dimensional and consist of marks visible to the human eye. - True.

4) The system is an original invention of your own, although borrowing ideas from existing systems is fine. - Inspired by tetris, the blocks-to-number mapping idea is mine.

For 100-199 put a line over 0-99
For 200-299 put a line under 0-99
For 300-399 put /\ around 0-99
For 400-499 put \/ around 0-99
For 500-599 put a triangle around 0-99
For 600-699 put a square missing the bottom line around 0-99
For 700-799 put a square missing the top line around 0-99
For 800-899 put a full square around 0-99
For 900-999 put a diamond around 0-99

113, 213, 313, 413... etc are illustrated in the attached word doc, as is 29.5 quintillian.

This is a base 1000 number system, which is much easier to convert to base 10 than a base that is not a multiple of 10. Again, this means that at most we need 7 symbols to depict up to 999 quintillian unique numbers.

Tests:

Click here to view the secret text

×Tatoo Test
I think this is the strength of this system. You can put as much, or as little detail into each symbol as you want to. You could go as simple as I have in the word doc, or you could go Calamarain style, and have a tremendously intricate 3D esque slayer tatoo.

Blood Test
Again, as it only takes 7 symbols at most you could quickly write it out in blood, and maybe even have enough blood left over to survive the fight.

Napkin Test
Again, none of the symbols need be overly difficult to draw, and fitting 7 on a napkin would be fairly easy.

The "Hey, I know you" Test
I think this does well in that it leaves a lot of freedom to the individual to decide how there tatoo would be designed, which would certainly make distinguishing them much easier. Or at least as easy as trying to distinguish between 29.5 quintillian different symbolds could be.